Warner Robins football drops fourth straight meeting against Lee County to open 2025 season

WARNER ROBINS — Both Warner Robins and Lee County had their issues with penalties and general Week 1 sloppiness, but the Trojans ended up on top in dominant fashion with a 45-7 final at McConnell-Talbert Stadium on Friday.

This is the fourth straight year the Demons have lost to Lee County and third straight under head coach Shane Sams. This is also Warner Robins’ worst loss since the 2017 championship game against Rome.

Three observations:

Youth and inexperience manifests in ball security problems

The Demons had their issues in Week 1, but ball security was the nail in the coffin in their blowout loss to the Trojans.

Warner Robins fumbled three times and Lee County scored 16 points off of those turnovers.

This was something Sams knew his offense might struggle with considering how many young and inexperienced players they’re starting.

“We knew going in we’re a very young and inexperienced offense so it’s going to take some time,” Sams said. “We know we’ve got a chance to be really good this season, but it’s going to take some time and we just got to build on that and keep going from there, and we know they’ll grow and mature into that.”

The first fumble came with 4:25 left in the first quarter and put the Trojans on the Demons’ 33-yard line. A facemask call brought back a touchdown, and though the defense stood firm, Lee County added three points to make it 11-0.

The second fumble came at the hands of junior quarterback Ellison Dantes, who is in competition for the starting spot with sophomore Chandler Dyson. The Trojans stripped him and got the ball down to the 4-yard line with about two minutes until halftime.

The defense once again made a valiant stand — stuffing an attempt at the 1-yard line — but eventually Lee County busted the doors down and made it 17-0 before the break.

The third and final fumble came late in the third quarter when the game was (arguably) already over. On the first play of a drive following another Lee County score Dyson threw a pass to X’Zavier Cannon, who had the ball poked free and the Trojans recovered on the 15-yard line.

Potential in the defense

Without a doubt the most encouraging part of the night was the early defensive performance. The defensive line in particular played physical and got after it on every play stopping multiple runs before they started and putting some pressure on Lee County signal caller Marcus Snipes Jr.

Procedural penalties and the physicality of the game got to them as they eventually tired out, but they made things extremely difficult on the Trojans.

Without two first-half fumbles and special teams blunders it’s very possible it would have been 0-0 entering the final two quarters of play.

“I thought the defense came out and stood up. They bowed their necks in some critical spots and we turned the ball over,” Sams said. “I thought they played well…as the game went on we wore down a little bit, but it showed that they can bow their necks and they can play physical and get after it.”

The first Lee County drive was a three-and-out with a run crushed up the middle and two incomplete passes with tight coverage from the Warner Robins defensive backs.

They did a solid job pressuring, but not containing, Snipes as he was able to roll out and make a pass downfield to Jaden Upshaw who brought down an incredible bobbling catch.

Quarterback battle still indecisive

Neither quarterback looked their best against a tough Trojans defense.

Part of that was the offense in general being stymied by a physical, agile Lee County front, but both had their individual issues, too.

Dantes’ biggest problem was his ball security. He was clearly more mobile escaping pressure and that saved a couple of plays, but he didn’t tuck when he should’ve and it cost him a fumble.

Though he started the game, after his fumble Dyson got the nod on more drives. He had a couple of miscommunications with receivers on routes and threw to open field — and in one case to two Lee County defensive backs who couldn’t bring down the interception.

He also took time to get comfortable on the field, bobbling some snaps early.

Sams remained noncommittal after the game on a starter moving forward.

“They’re doing a good job, they’re gonna keep battling out and we’ll keep moving forward with them,” Sams said.

UP NEXT

The Demons get a chance to reset with a visit to Fayette County on Thursday, Aug. 21 at 7:30 p.m.

The Trojans will host Hapeville Charter on Friday, Aug. 22 at 7:30 p.m. to start a four-game home stand.